We are down to 8 in each draw at the Australian Open. Today, the quarterfinals begin with star-studded line-up today.

In the afternoon on Rod Laver, Hobart champion Elise Mertens meets Brisbane winner Elina Svitolina for a spot in a first Grand Slam semifinal for either player.

“I have my plan, what my, you know, what I have to do on court and just, you know, go out there and fight until the last point and just give my best,” Svitolina said. “Then, you know, of course I will have few things. I know her game because I played against her once and I know what to expect from her.”

Svitolina beat Mertens in their only previous meeting last year in Istanbul.

To follow, Grigor Dimitrov tries to make a return to the semifinals against a Brit, but it’s not Andy Murray. Kyle Edmund is carrying the flag for England as the 23-year-old appears in his first Grand Slam QF.

“There is no place for underestimation or anything like that,” Dimitrov said looking ahead. “You have just got to go out there and play your tennis.

“The only thing I have been focusing since day one out here on the court is really looking after my side of the game and my side of the net. This is what I want to progress. I want to be better. And it doesn’t matter who I play. I just want to do better.”

Dimitrov has won both meetings with Edmund including in Brisbane earlier this month when the Brit rolled his ankle.

In the evening doubleheader, Rafael Nadal takes on Marin Cilic in a battle of US Open champions. Nadal was finally tested Sunday against Diego Schwartzman, and now he faces the much taller Croat. It’s also Rafa’s first meeting with a Top 20 player in a Slam since the French Open!

“I’m very pleased,” Cilic said of his week. “I felt that I played all four matches on a good quality. You know, today was, if looking some small details, I was a little bit up and down on some service games, and he was returning quite good. From both doing so, in that case it was a little bit more difficult.

“But overall I’m feeling good with the game. I’m hitting the ball really nicely, taking chances, playing aggressive, you know, taking the ball as early as I can.”

Nadal leads Cilic 5-1.

The day wraps up with former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki who seeks a second Australian Open semifinal against Carla Suarez Navarro who has never made a Slam final four. The Dane leads 6-2 including a 3-0 mark on hard courts.

“We’ve had a lot of tough encounters on hard courts as well,” Wozniacki said of the Spaniard. “Three-set grueling matches. I’m expecting a tough fight. Obviously I think she had a tough season last year. She also had a few injuries. Obviously she’s back playing really well.”

@FedExpress, please tell me one place which says the court speed is slower than last year.
Craig Tiley has said the court speeds are the same. Even Fed says the court speed: “it’s the same… it felt fast tonight.” See the first question and his answerhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaNjwfxtmTs

I concur with FedExpress.Eventhough officially, they said the court speed is the same as last year, I can clearly see it’s playing slower. Just check on youtube the videos of Federer’s last year’s matches and you’ll see. If it’s not the court, then maybe the balls? That’s why I’m not that confident that Federer can replicate the awesome play especially the BH of last year.

Fed express . Just check the ace and winner stats on every match … it shows high numbers . It feels if you go for your shots the ball gets pretty fast … even nadal is aggressive knowing rod laver is way faster than Arthur ashe

Yeah, too bad for Nadal about his hair (although it’s still okay!). But with his wealth and many advanced medical treatments nowadays, I don’t understand why he hasn’t sought these options, or maybe he has and it’s nor working? Poor thing

If Roger would also accept day matches, like the others ….and not use the “old age ” excuse…
Serena has the same age, do not remember her complaining and asking only for night matches. That is dignity!!

Oh I can’t guarantee you that though. To see the way I see it, you need to have years and years of wisdom to be fully Fed’s fan…hehe. Though it can help you on being less bitter, that I can guarantee ;)

Oh!i’m not worry whether he can win or not today squirrel…insyaallah he will win..but i’m more worried the time that he has to spent on court today…he cannot afford another 4 hrs squirrel…otherwise he’ll be toast against Edmond or Fed..

I mean this has to be the choke of the tournament by cilic !!! Wow wow wow .. how does he do it over and over again to choke like that with his forehand … good news is Federer has the forehand to finish nadal and his short balls offf . Cilic has not

Even on a fast court like this it takes an out of this world effort to beat nadal here !!! But it is possible .. better chances than here you will next get in Shanghai in Oktober.. nadal clearly struggling in that conditions in comparison to slower courts … but nadal is nadal

Even on a fast court like this it takes an out of this world effort to beat nadal here !!! But it is possible .. better chances than here you will next get in Shanghai in Oktober.. nadal clearly struggling in these conditions in comparison to slower courts … but nadal is nadal

Us, Federer Fans should not be wildly celebrating if Nadal loses today even though we know with Nadal it never is a straightforward conclusion given than his tenacity and relentlessness can sometimes wear the opponent down. What I believe, in spite of being heavy favorite Berdych is in great contention to beat our man. All berdman needs a nervous day in the office for Maestro and applying himself well to feast on Fed’s tentativeness or nervousness. We have to keep calm see what our man can do..at 36, grand slam victory is not given unless you take it to the opponent and earn. For I would be thrilled again to see Federer VS Nadal Final and hopefully Fed winning it again. The H2H is a perennial thorn in our path, Fed should earn another opportunity to reduce his H2H against his old foe Nadal. If that happens, then we can celebrate wildly and justifiably so.

Nadal´s track record in Grand Slam five set matches is not great latelly. He lost last yaer to Fed in 5, to Muller in five. Lost to Pouille in 2016 and in 2015 to Fogninin in 5 in USO and Verdasco in 5 in AO in 2016.

And Rafa has retired. So sorry all you Rafa fans on here. Like Nole and Stan, came back too early?
Cheering for Chung or Edmund now. Wouldn’t that be something!
Cheers Wog Boy, at least you got to see Nole and were pleased with what you saw. Fingers crossed for elbow.

Us, Federer Fans should not be celebrating Nadal’s loss, he has shown his usual tenacity and relentlessness even in the defeat. In spite of being heavy favorite, Fed can also lose to Berdych. All Berdman needs is applying himself well to feast on Fed’s nervousness and weakness. We have to keep calm see what our man can do..at 36, grand slam victory is not given unless you take it to the opponent and earn it. For, I am extremely saddened to see that we will not see Federer VS Nadal final this year. The H2H is a perennial thorn in our path, Fed has lost another opportunity to reduce H2H against his old foe Nadal assuming he beats 2 other opponents to reach in the final. But, who cares about H2H if Fed earns coveted grand slam number 20! But, what is puzzling is that, something is wrong with this year’s Australian open. Fed has to be very very careful and assert his game plan with strategic and physical finesse. Otherwise, we might have to lick the same wounds which is hurting Nadal’s and Djokovic’s fans right now.

If RG was in a month time he would win it again without losing a set. He played some great tennis on a fast HC and on clay he would be unstopable. He needs time to recover properly, don’t play Acaulpi nor Dubai, just IW/Miami.

Had always much respect for Rafa, even before I was a Nole fan, and feel sorry for him, now even more because I understand the situation much better, with Djoko in the same crisis. Wish them both and Andy( very much missed at this tournament), to come back , even if they will never be the same, I think…

I have a strong bet…Djokovic will return to his full fitness during French open time….He will give Nadal run for his money…No offence to Rafa fans, I feel Rafa is not going to win French open this year. But who cares, he is the king of clay and won it freaking 10 times…It is impossible for any man to keep winning one trophy for such long time with tireless consistency even if it is Rafa whose legacy on clay is undisputed.

Last year when I found it was the day of the final I almost schedule my vacation to attend it, but it was too close and $$$;-).
AO is the only Slam I miss to watch live and is in my bucket list before I turn 40, and Fed retires. Window is closing.

Wow Daniel, you almost made it last year, and had you made it, I’m sure it would have been one of your finest birthday ever, seeing how it ended! But I hope you got to catch it live. I did and it was one of my best moments as Fed fan!

Lucky you, you’ve been to the other Slams, so jealous! Can’t you make it to this year’s final??

I see two possibilities here for Federer either he’s gonna lose to Berdych; or he will finish ’em all in straight sets like he did in Wimbledon ’17; now that is something I call Maestro at his best. But, watch out for Berdych match!

Cilic won 157 points in the 302 points match, 83 were winner out of this. Amazing! He won 53% of his points with winners. Can get any better than that. Ao stats doesn’t show UE, but even if he had 50 his numbers are still great.

He liks fast courts (won Cincy title) and the few I watched the ball was landing in his striking zone. Would not be surpised at all if he wins the whole thing. He would have to hold it mentally. But either Fed or Berdych would play a very different match than Nadal.

@Skeezer, I read that if Fed wins the AO again, Rafa will have a 155 point lead over him. So a lot would depend on the extent of Rafa’s injury and absence. Also, it depends on how much Fed is playing. He had his dumb loss to Donskoy at Dubai last year. Assuming Fed plays Dubai again, he is likely to gain points there. After that, he would be defending points in Indian Wells and Miami.

If Fed retains his AO title he can be #1 after Dubai or soon if he chooses to play Roterda.

Even if Nadal plays Acapulco where he defends 300 pts and win it. If Federer also wins in Dubai he will be #1.

If Nadal doesn’t play Acapulco and defends his 300 pts, Fed will be #1 after Dubai even if he doesn’t play.

Defending his AO title he will only be trailing Nadal by 155 pts.
He has 45 pts in Dubai to Nadal 300 in Acapulco.

So, Fed can be #1 at March 5th when Nadal’s Acapulco points drop. Unless he plays Roterdam before it, if he wants to be #1 sooner. But that will depend on Nadal’s scheudle as well, if he chooses to play SA clay swing or not.

Bottom line, if Fed wins AO, he will 95% be oldest #1 before IW for a few weeks.

Thanks all. And I forgot Fed has all this points to defend on the winter HC’s. But so does Rafa….
Will be very interesting going forward… lots of variables ( health, etc ).
Anyone knows if Cilic wins what is ranking will be? He is 6 now…

Agree with you J.Kath on Cilic i cant stand the guy either, and really hope Kyle kicks his skinny arse, hoping for Kyle to get to the final against one of the other new guys, would love a brand new champion now ….

Nadal was statistically superior only in set 1 that he won. Cilic was statistically superior in sets 2, 4 and 5.

In Set 2, Cilic had 4 breakpoints (converted 2) to Nadal’s 2 BP (converted 1). Cilic also had 16 winners to Nadal’s 7. Cilic 34 total points to Nadal’s 28.

Third set that Nadal won 7-6 (7-5). Cilic could have won the third set as he had 3 breakpoints to Nadal’s 1 BP (neither converted). Cilic also had 24 winners to Nadal’s 10. Cilic 46 total points to Nadal’s 48. Even the ESPN commentators felt that Cilic was the slightly better player in this set that Nadal stole in the tie break.

In Set 4, Cilic had 5 breakpoints (converted 2) to Nadal’s 0 BP. Cilic also had 21 winners to Nadal’s 3. Cilic 32 total points to Nadal’s 22.

Conclusion: By fourth set, Nadal surely realized that Cilic was possibly going to beat him — even before the injury drama started.

2 nights in a row….my heart can’t take it!
Rafa was getting an MRI today on his upper leg, he said it was not his hip. The injury happened in the 3rd match at 3/2.
Hoping it’s not serious!

Hoping both Djokovic and Nadal fans get good news soon – it’s been a very emotional AO tournament wl lots of controversy!

The Good News – Some rising stars that seem to be genuine-nice athletes! Edmund, Chung, Sandgren that we have gotten to know during the AO! They have been fun to watch – nice to see some youg kids that aren’t bad boys! They have peaked my interest and easy to root for!
I have even enjoyed some WTA matches, Davies? and the Hseih matches were both SO good!

Thanks to everyone who have been so nice during an emotional time for some of us! :)

J.S.
Nothing so far, no new information, but instead guessing ourselves about injuries (I am not qualified) this is opinion about Nole from specialist, Dr Peter Brukner, who knows everything about elbow and tendons, and even being diplomatic his opinion is not very optimistic, I agree, take few minutes and read it:

————-
Experienced sports medicine expert Dr Peter Brukner, said that although surgery was among the options, the question that will be asked is: will that help?

“The issue is he’s tried the non-surgical route and that hasn’t worked, clearly, so whether surgery is going to do any better or not is arguable,’’ said Brukner, the professor of sports medicine at La Trobe University, with a long client list that has included AFL, soccer and the Australian cricket team.

“If they thought surgery was the best treatment, they’d have done the six months ago. It sounds like the tissue is pretty degenerative and it’s not that easy to restore degenerative tissue.

“It’s a load issue, really. There’s enormous forces going through those two tendons at the elbow with the topspin and so on, so it’s probably not surprising.

“It’s like an Achilles in a runner or a patellar tendon in a basketballer or a volleyballer. It’s just enormous forces through these tendons and they don’t have a good blood supply, so they take a long time to heal, and that’s why we try and find things that help.’

Cortisone typically has been one option, and blood injections among the newer treatments, although the jury is still out as to the effectiveness, and whether it’s the time off and the rehabilitation that actually makes the difference, according to Brukner.

Then there’s surgery, and there’s no doubt that Team Djokovic will be considering every avenue to usher the former world No.1 back to competitive good health.

“Tendons are one of the biggest challenges we have in our area,’’ said Brukner. “Once they’re in trouble, it’s very hard to get them right in a really elite athlete. You’d imagine Novak had the best opinions, the best physios, the best treatment and all that sort of stuff. And that hasn’t enabled it to withstand the load.”
—————

OH NO! WB – That is NOT good news for Djokovic and fans/team! Let’s hope they come up w/ something.
Nothing on Rafa’s MRI as of now….Fingers crossed for all of them, including Andy! Oh how I miss them already!

CHUNG is kicking butt!! He is just like Djok, it’s amazing! LOVE watching him!

J.S.
It is what it is, I never had a big hope in his come back due to few reasons, not just injury.
As a fan I can’t complain about pleasure of watching my favorite all those years and results he achieved, but when the curtains are going down they are going down and you have to recognize that moment.
The curtains on Nole’s great career are going down, it is the matter just to enjoy what’s left in him in joyful manners and not to watch him struggle, that is something wouldn’t like to see.

Hehe..sorry WB!…But,honestly i kept thinking about this from last year..Is it coincidence that Nole start getting injured when he became so thin[i take it from lack of basic & important food that he’s avoid]and we all know that food is very important to rebuild & make our body strong…

And also a fact when he’s on his peak[5 years straight],he’s not suffered any major injury..and he still not become a vegetarian then…so..

AM,
You will find your answer in my previous post when I said “..due to few reasons, not just injury?”
He drastically changed his life style and life philosophy in the last two years and that shows on court, but if he is privately happy with that who am I to complain.
I won’t elaborate anymore, this was already too much.